USA Broadleaf tobacco farm photos

[5thStarChicago]

So I know it's not Cuba, but I had the chance to visit Altadis USA's Connecticut Broadleaf farm last week during the harvest.  Since we're all cigar lovers here, I thought I'd share some photos.  There's a brief description under some of the photos.  Enjoy and feel free to ask questions.

 

 

I never get tired of being in tobacco fields.  They are gorgeous.  These plants have already been topped are were going to be harvested any day.  Broadleaf is stalk cut, meaning that the leaves stay on the stalk instead of coming off in primings.  The top is cut earlier so the bottom (huge) leaves can really grow and get all the nutrients in the final stage of growth.

Undoubtedly the biggest leaves I've ever seen in person.

Flowers and seed pods left on for show (untopped plant).  Broadlead doesn't grow as tall as shade / other varietals.

Very very old seeding tractor, still in use today.  Workers ride on each station and feed the seedlings into a wheel that places them equidistant from each other.  Replacement parts have to be made in house.

Cutting the plants, of course by hand.  Each person makes their own custom ax out of a saw blade and weight it to their personal preference.  They are sharpened after every row.  The stalks and leaves sit on the ground for 45 minutes before they are put onto the barn slats so the leaves can start to wilt and be less rigid and be handled without damaging the lead.  A torn leaf means it can't be wrapper which means less ROI.

Curing barns can be fully vented on the sides to control temp and humidity during 6 to 8 weeks of curing.

Fresh cut stalks being hung in the barns.

 

Another barn that had been filled earlier (I think a week before). 

This I had never seen in practice before.  Cooler temps and rain were moving into the area so they use propane burners with metal plates above to control the temp and excess humidity.  Notice the barn slats were all closed. They rushed us in and out via a small side door to keep as much heat in the barn as possible.

Welp, that's it.  Hope you all enjoyed a little view of Connecticut Broadleaf!

[nKostyan]

Thank you, it's interesting!
I know that in Cuba tobacco bushes for wrappers are sheltered from the rain, so that the sun does not burn holes. I didn't see anything like that here...

[5thStarChicago]

13 minutes ago, nKostyan said:

Thank you, it's interesting!
I know that in Cuba tobacco bushes for wrappers are sheltered from the rain, so that the sun does not burn holes. I didn't see anything like that here...

They still grow a little bit of shade wrapper in Connecticut but most of non-Cuban shade wrapper is now grown in Ecuador.  Very few cigars on the US market use real USA shade any more.  Even Davidoff wrapper is Ecuador Connecticut now.  Shade, be it in Cuba or elsewhere, is used not only to protect the leaf from the elements but also to keep it lighter and thinner.  Broadleaf, and a lot of other sun grown leaf, is much thicker and more durable so it can yield a lot of wrapper if it is handled properly.  Most of the damage comes from human interaction but the sun, wind and other elements take their toll too.

[madandana]

Cool trip. Thanks for sharing.

[El Presidente]

Fantastic post. Many thanks 

[havanaclub]

Looks great. This may be a good sign for CBL. Pete Johnson of tatuaje has said crop of CBL in the last few years has not been as good as years past.
I can certainly attest to this with his 13 broadleaf cigars being outstanding! Recent production of his cbl is another story. Might be why his recent TAA release was Mexican wrapper and all his Mexican experiment release a this year.



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[inter4alia]

Excellent post and photos, Phil. Thanks for sharing. 

[Chef]

Great post. Thank you for sharing.

[Raskol]

Great pics and info. Thank you.

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[El Hoze]

Thanks for sharing. I’ve always been a bit fascinated by Connecticut’s place in the world of tobacco. I fly out of Bradley airport fairly frequently and always get a kick out of seeing the fields/barns in and around Windsor. Thanks for the post! 

[Colt45]

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[Cigar Surgeon]

I visited their farm a few years ago as well, and fortunately got a lot of time to chat with a few farmers. One of the things he mentioned is because of the heat, most of the tobacco will grow overnight as opposed to during the day.

They also use a fascinating and terrifying machine for leaf pairs for the curing process. Because all this work is being done in Connecticut every optimization has to be utilized to save on labour costs. Instead of tying the stems by hand, they lift the pair into the machine where a needle and string punches through. This is done at a very rapid pace, and while I was offered to try it out myself I politely declined.

One of the farmers also went through the aromas from the curing barns with me. He mentioned that just based on aroma alone he can detect the presence of mold, where the leaves are in the curing stages, or if they have a humidity issue.

It was a great trip.

[5thStarChicago]

5 hours ago, havanaclub said:

Looks great. This may be a good sign for CBL. Pete Johnson of tatuaje has said crop of CBL in the last few years has not been as good as years past.
I can certainly attest to this with his 13 broadleaf cigars being outstanding! Recent production of his cbl is another story. Might be why his recent TAA release was Mexican wrapper and all his Mexican experiment release a this year.


 

There is definitely a shortage of Broadleaf for the US market, and you're correct as to why Pete is using Mexican San Andreas wrapper on the TAA and other releases.  The batch from Altadis' farm was gorgeous and plentiful but they also use a lot of it their machine made (larger and more profitable) portfolio.  Ironically, there was another farm directly across the road, owned by another massive corporation known for mass market cigars and one major premium brand, and the broadleaf there was much smaller and sadder and hadn't been topped yet. 

[cigcars]

      *A few thoughts here: number one - I LOVE Connecticut broadleaf AND shade grown tobacco. Kind of hard to figure a more glorifying honor than for Davidoff to select that tobacco (Connecticut shade grown) as being a prominent part of its cigar make up! As I said, I love Connecticut's broad leaf and sun grown tobaccos; and I'm lamenting the fact that you can't find Munimaker cigars anymore!  They were always a great and good old standby for me even among our premium and Habano tobaccos. 

    Secondly; am I the only one who's found Pennsylvania Broadleaf very unsatisfying and downright dull??  That and Costa Rican tobacco. VERY unappealing and undesirable. I know that's my opinion, just like some folks love and some others loathe Mayonnaise. Nothing really wrong with those country's tobaccos, I just don't find them enjoyable or satisfying. Additional thoughts anyone? 

[BuzzArd]

5 hours ago, cigcars said:

      *A few thoughts here: number one - I LOVE Connecticut broadleaf AND shade grown tobacco. Kind of hard to figure a more glorifying honor than for Davidoff to select that tobacco (Connecticut shade grown) as being a prominent part of its cigar make up! As I said, I love Connecticut's broad leaf and sun grown tobaccos; and I'm lamenting the fact that you can't find Munimaker cigars anymore!  They were always a great and good old standby for me even among our premium and Habano tobaccos. 

    Secondly; am I the only one who's found Pennsylvania Broadleaf very unsatisfying and downright dull??  That and Costa Rican tobacco. VERY unappealing and undesirable. I know that's my opinion, just like some folks love and some others loathe Mayonnaise. Nothing really wrong with those country's tobaccos, I just don't find them enjoyable or satisfying. Additional thoughts anyone? 

Munimaker.   One of my first cigars ever.  I thought it was awful....  Maybe I’d feel different now.   I was 22 or 25 or something...    my uncle LOVED them and being from Connecticut we’d always have a supply around.  When he moved to NH he’d always stock up in CT if he couldn’t find them in NH.    I didn’t know they were NLA...  ?

 

OP: Thanks for sharing some pictures from “back home”.   

[mtd057]

Great pics, thanks for posting